Burger team at McDonald's provide cash for Grangemouth Stags work in the community

Grangemouth Stags Rugby Football Club received £15,000 from the McDonald’s team which will be used to encourage even more youngsters to take up the sport.

The club already provides rugby coaching across local communities for children and adults with players ranging from five-years-old right up to 80 plus. The ambition is to extend rugby to pre-school children, helping their early years development while providing a social space where they can also learn life skills.

Beyond rugby, the club also supports a range of other local programmes including a cycle club, dog training, HNS FV cardio rehab clinic and Graeme High School Football Academy.

The donation was made possible by the ‘McDonald’s in the Community Foundation’, set up by 16 Scottish McDonald’s franchisees, and the 20 McDonald’s-owned restaurants in Scotland. The foundation provides a central hub to help distribute funds, raised by the 10p carrier bag charge, to different charities and organisations across Scotland.

McDonald’s franchisee Elliot Jardine, who owns and operates the Grangemouth restaurant along with 10 others across central Scotland, said: “Supporting our local community is of upmost importance to my team and me, which is why I was so pleased to see the McDonald’s in the Community Foundation officially launched last year. It means that each restaurant group can make meaningful contributions to charities in the communities that we operate in.

"Grangemouth Stags Rugby Football Club provides a vital space for people of all ages to be active, learn new skills and most importantly have some fun. Groups like this rely on volunteers and donations to keep them operating so we are delighted to be able to help them. We’re so proud to be able to work with organisations such as Grangemouth Stags Rugby Football Club and look forward to continuing to do so.”

To date, the proceeds from the 10p carrier bag charge across Scotland McDonald’s restaurants, has been donated to Ronald McDonald House Charities UK. Donations totalled £3.9 million by 2021, and went towards building the brand new RMHC House in Edinburgh.